A commonly known type of machine for making electrical cable assemblies is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,238,874 which issued Dec. 16, 1980 to Chandler et al. and which is hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth verbatim herein. The machine of Chandler et al. includes a connector holder, a pair of opposed wire inserting mechanisms, one on each side of the connector, a clamp for holding a jacketed cable directly above the connector, and means for positioning the terminals of the connector in alignment with the wire inserters. The operator will select the first pair of wires to be terminated, place the wires on opposite sides of the connector and in alignment with the first set of terminals which automatically trips a limit switch which activates the pair of wire inserters. The wires are inserted into the terminals and the connector is advanced to the next terminal position ready for the next pair of wires. This procedure continues until all of the cable pairs are terminated in the connector. Another similar machine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,472 which issued July 12, 1977 to Cover et al. Both Chandler et al. and Cover et al. require that an operator select each pair of wires and present them to the machine in the proper order for insertion.
An apparatus for automatically selecting a single wire from a stack of wires and positioning the wire in alignment with its respective terminal for insertion is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,470,181 which issued Sept. 11, 1984 to Sergeant, and which is hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth verbatim herein. Sergeant discloses a pair of rollers for holding a plurality of discrete wires in a planar vertical stack and an escapement mechanism for taking the bottom-most wire from the stack. The plurality of wires emanate from one end of a jacketed cable which is clamped in the machine. The wires at the other end of the cable are terminated in a connector. When a wire is taken from the stack, it is moved into a contact which pierces the insulation and makes electrical contact with the conductor of the wire. A signal, which appears on the contact is then impressed on the conductor and appears on the respective terminal of the connector at the other end of the cable, which is continuously monitored. The terminal upon which this signal appears is then translated into a corresponding terminal position at the insertion station which appropriately positions the connector for insertion of the selected wire. This apparatus, when combined with the machine of Chandler et al., resulted in an automated machine for making electrical cable assemblies.
In a production environment, it would be desirable to accept cable from a large reel. When a specific wire code to connector terminal is desired, however, each first connector would have to be terminated manually. The present invention addresses this problem by providing a means for electrically coupling the wires of the cable while on the reel to the automated machine. This is done in such a way that, as cable assemblies are finished, additional cable may be drawn off the reel without disturbing the electrical coupling. Additionally, different reels having various types and kinds of cable may be easily and quickly coupled to the machine to meet production requirements.